


OUT || An MCYT HORROR AU

by xYouly



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: BadBoyHalo - Freeform, DreamTeam, Jschlatt - Freeform, Multi, Skephalo, TechnoBlade, TommyInnit - Freeform, Tubbo - Freeform, altrive - Freeform, connoreatspants - Freeform, dreamnotfound, dreamwastaken - Freeform, georgenotfound - Freeform, iamty - Freeform, krinios - Freeform, sapnap - Freeform, schlattbur - Freeform, skeppy - Freeform, wilbursoot - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-28
Updated: 2021-01-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:09:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27755143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xYouly/pseuds/xYouly
Summary: What better way is there to spend your summer vacation then to go to a summer camp? After the passing of both his Aunt and Uncle, ownership of the campsite premise is passed down to their nephew, Dream. After Dream decides to open it back up again this summer, 13 boys arrive at the camp excited for what's to come, + Dream's cousin to come help. However, the group comes to realise that Dream's Summer Camp isn't any ordinary camp. And yet how little did they know that coming to this camp...... Was the worst decision they could ever make in their life.But of course, the main question lingers: Will they be able to make. It. Out?
Comments: 1
Kudos: 34





	1. PROLOGUE

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING - THIS FANFIC WILL CONTAIN:
> 
> ○ DEATH -- In contrast to Mirai SMP, the characters will NOT be killing each other. Instead, character may be killed off by something else.
> 
> ○ GORE -- This story will be a little bit more graphic than my other stories
> 
> ○ ANGST --- This story will obviously have angst. However I will not be mentioning any topics such as severe depression / suicidal thoughts because no
> 
> ○ ROMANCE --- I might add a little bit of romance/shipping to spice up the story a little. They won't be heavily hinted (NO NSFW), and chances are I won't get too into depth with them since this is meant to be a horror story. (Ships I MIGHT include will be skephalo, dreamnotfound, possibly schlattbur but we'll see how it goes :) )
> 
> ○ Falling under romance, platonic friendships will definitely be a thing (you can interpret them as either bromance or romance, I don't care). The only reason I might add romance is if it makes sense to the plot.
> 
> _____________________________
> 
> In NO WAY do I intend to fantasise any of the actual content creators to be in this scenario. I love all MCYTers and I do not wish to make anyone uncomfortable. This is merely just a WORK OF FICTION and I will be ONLY using their PERSONAS! If you don't think you are comfortable with what this story has to offer then I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO LEAVE. Also, PLEASE don't spam this story to the CC's!!

PROLOGUE

………………………………………….

There's a sigh of relief as he breathes out, stepping sluggishly inside as the door behind him shuts. His temporary peace and tranquility however, is unfortunately interrupted by his mother. 

“Technoblade! Over here please!”

“ _Mom!”_ he groans, throwing his backpack onto the sofa, already knowing what she’ll say. “Today was the last day of school for the _year._ I need a break! Can’t you farm the potatoes instead for once?”

“No, no,” comes his mother’s response from the kitchen. “It’s not chores this time. I have something to show you!”

_My interest is peaked._

He walks swiftly over to the kitchen where his mom is; she’s sitting at the dining table with some sort of flyer in her hands. She looks over at him, ushering for her son to take a seat beside her.   
His eyebrow raises as a sign of curiosity.

“What’re you holding?” he asks, taking a seat.

“I found one of these hand-outs at the cafe this morning,” she smiles, waving the flyer in front of his face. “I really think you should go.” 

“You want me to go to some nerdy summer camp up in the mountains?” he questions, cringing at himself as he speaks. If there's one thing more geeky than spending all day playing video games, it's going to a 'summer camp'. Seriously, summer camps are never good in the movies. They all suck.

His mother nods excitedly, glossing over his obvious distaste. 

"It looks like it will be a lot of fun, Techno. You’ve never been to a camp before, right? Wouldn’t this be such an exciting new experience?!”

He shoots her another dreary glare, silencing his mother’s enthusiasm.

“Aw, c’mon. Please Techno,” she frowns in disappointment, placing her hand on his. “You always spend your summer holidays in your room by yourself playing video games like that Roblox or whatever."

"It's Minecraft, not robl—."

"Oh whatever, you know what I mean. I just want you to actually have a social life. You can’t be like this forever.”

“But mom,” Techno urges, retracting his hand back. “I don’t _want_ to socialise. Believe it or not, I actually _enjoy_ playing video games all day. Killing 12 year old orphans are x10 more fun than roasting carbohydrate-filled gelatine over a fire on a stick.”

She picks up on his irony, and sighs. “Look, I know it seems boring to you but.. Well… I just want you to hang out with other kids for once.”

He responds with an impactful silence. _‘Hang out with other kids for once’ —_ Who does she think he is? Some antisocial freak?

… Well actually, that’s not wrong.

An awkward silence hangs in the air for a little, before it eventually shatters once again by his mother. 

“I’m going to start making dinner now,” she remarks, standing up as she hands the paper to him. “Just… Consider it, at least, will you?”

Before he has time to answer, she makes her way to the kitchen cupboard to prepare for dinner. Techno looks down at the flyer in hand, sighing. He stands up and makes his way upstairs to his bedroom, before crumpling and throwing the flyer sheet into his small, metal trashcan.

  
*** * * ***

  
For dinner he had baked potatoes with calamari rings on the side. To be fair, he isn’t really a fan of squid. But he loves potatoes — in fact, he actually is the one who proposed the idea of growing a small potato farm in their backyard. Farming potatoes— it’s the second thing he takes his most pride in, with the first being him hitting a 1000 Bedwars Win Streak on Minecraft.

Though his mother on the other hand isn't as prideful of that as he is.

Walking into his bedroom, he closes the door as he jumps onto his bed. It’s only 8:30pm, yet he’s exhausted. To his relief, at least it’s summer vacation now.

_Summer vacation._

He looks over to the bin on the other side of his room where the flyer is in. Contemplation gears in his mind for a few long seconds. Hesitating, he crawls over to the bin, and grabs the flyer.   
Quickly, he throws himself back onto his bed, carefully un-crumpling the flyer to re-read it.

“www.dreamsummercamp.com." he reads aloud, whilst opening his laptop beside him. He types up the link on google, and opens to it's website.

On the website’s home page is information about the camp. Odd — It's near his area, and he’s never heard nor seen of it before. Is it new?

But it doesn’t look new to him — in fact, it looks old. Run down. Like it's been there for a hundred years. But hey, whose he to judge? Maybe it’s not as bad as it looks.

He clicks on the sign-ups tab:

  
11/12 SPOTS BOOKED.  
1 SPOT AVAILABLE.  
CAMP STARTS JUNE 1ST, 9:00AM.  
  


Only 1 spot available? And it starts on June 1st? Wait, that’s _tomorrow!  
_ He thinks about it again for a minute — does he really want to go? An apprehensive sigh slips subconsciously from his mouth.

“Well. What’s the worst that could happen?” he mumbles to himself. “I get a social life?”

So he clicks the button, and signs up. And then goes straight to sleep, with his head dropping down and resting on his laptop's keyboard.

  
*** * * ***   
  


_OH SHIT!_

His eyes snap open and he shoots up from his bed.

“Crap!” he exclaims, _“I slept in!!”_

He frantically searches for his alarm clock.

_Please be 8. Please be 8. Please be 8!!_

He finds it, and checks the time.

2:00 pm.


	2. DREAM SUMMER CAMP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After George finally arrives as the 11th person at Dream Summer Camp, the group of boys gather at the entrance gates of the camp as Dream - the owner of the camp - announces their arrival and welcoming through the speakers. Telling them to take the cable cars up to the main camp, the group of boys split into pairs (+ one trio) and have some time to get to know each other in the cable cars before arriving to the top.
> 
> Oh how little do they know of the mess they're getting themselves into...

.................................................

**CHAPTER 1: DREAM SUMMER CAMP**

****

.................................................  
  


  
After about half an hour of walking, he finally reaches the towering, black gates of what he can only assume is the Dream Summer Camp. The camp's pretty isolated, as it's out in the vast valleys and mountains.   
At the bottom of the camp on ground level is the entrance, fenced out by large, fancy yet medieval-looking set of gates. The _actual_ camp is somewhere far up high at the mountains — thank _God_ cable cars exist.

He notices that there is already a group of kids waiting there at the gates, too — about 11 of them in total?

The kids notice him approaching, and they all start whispering and talking amongst themselves.

"You're a slow walker!" one of them yells out at George. It's a blonde, fairly tall boy.

"Shut up dude," says another boy with a white, tie back headband. "You were the _second_ last person here!"

"Second last?" George repeats, stopping as he reaches the group. "Does that make me the last person here?"

Head-tie kid bites his lip. "Uh, kinda. But it's all g—"

"You're _british!"_ the blonde boy exclaims, pointing accusingly at George. "No wonder why you took so long. _Fucking_ _british..._ "

A brown hair smaller boy with a green polo looks at blonde. "Uh... Aren't you british too?"

"Was I talking to you?"

"Can someone tell the british boys to shut the fuck up please? I'm trying to do my taxes."

A booming voice coming from another boy interrupts their conversation; he's sitting on a rock, holding a bunch of papers in his hand. His most noticeable feature are his ram horns curling around his ears.

"Sorry." Blonde quickly apologises, sparking another conversation amongst the group. But he doesn't pay attention, as his focus pulls back to the head-tie boy who defended him.

"This isn't really how I imagined the first impression of this Camp would be." George lets out an anxious chuckle to the boy, trying to see if he can start a conversation with him.

"You and me both," he replies, giving him a small grin. He looks back at angry blonde kid, whose yelling something at green-polo guy. "Inniter sure does know how to make a name for himself, huh?"

"Is 'Inniter' his name?" George queries.

"Oh, right, you weren't here when it happened," Head tie remembers. "Well, I think his name is 'Tommy' or something, but we gave him the nickname 'Inniter' because the first thing he did was make fun of my backpack."

He turns around, showing George his bag. It's black, and in big, orange flaming letters, it says ' _IGNITER'._

"Then he misread my bag as 'inniter' and we started making fun of him back."

George laughs a little at this, pointing at the bag. "Well, the G _does_ kinda look like an N."

" _Seriously?"_

A cackle over what sounds like speakers interjects them, drawing the attention of everybody towards the direction of the sound.

"Attention!" calls a voice over the speakers attached to the top of the gates. "Everyone's there, right? All 11 people?"

Everyone nods.

"I can't actually hear you guys so that was rhetorical, but I can see you guys nodding on the security cameras so I'll take that as a yes. Anyways, welcome! I'm Dream, the owner of this camp! We're kinda running behind schedule so I'll make the rest of the introduction once you guys get up here. I'll open the gates in a sec — Once I do, there's 6 cable cars that can carry about 2 people each. There was actually meant to be 12 people but one of them haven't shown up yet... So one cable car can just hold an extra person. Shouldn't be too hard to use 'em, just hop into the car, and press the button which should be inside your cable car. That's all for now, see you later!"

The speakers cackle once more before going silent. The towering gates then slowly creak open. Inniter runs in first, and the rest follow behind. George looks over at head-tie, shooting him a small 'we're following that kid?' look.

Head-tie shrugs, and goes through the gates. George follows.

*** * * *  
  
**

"I guess we all go in pairs and one trio then?" suggests a boy. He has hazel brown hair, and is wearing a green jacket with a yellow stripe. Through the gates was a small pathway leading up to the platform where the cable cars were. Just like what Dream had said, there were 6 cable cars, ready and lined up at the take-off platform.

"Guess so," says another boy with dark blue hair and an eyepatch. "Whose going first?"

"I dibs the back one!" exclaims a boy, running over to the back and placing a hand on the car, like as if touching it automatically claims it yours. He's wearing a light blue hood with the word 'SKEPPY' printed out on it.

Green jacket looks around at everyone, waiting for a response. But nobody says anything.

"I'll go first then." George speaks up after a minute, smiling as he raises his hand up to take the offer. He steps forward, walking towards the cable car at the front. He pulls open the door, and takes a seat inside.

"I'll go with him!" says another boy, running behind as he also hops in. It's head-tie.

The two boys buckle themselves in, and George presses the launch-off button. The cable car jerks a little, and then proceeds to elevate up the zipline.

*** * * ***

"So... How long have you guys been waiting for me?" George asks.

"Like, 20 minutes," comes Head-tie's response. "Also, I forgot to ask this before but... What's your name? I'm Sapnap, by the way."

"I'm George," he replies, holding his hand out to him. "Nice to meet you."

Sapnap fist-bumps him instead. "Cool to meet you too, dude. I like your shades."

He nods at his white glasses he's wearing.

"Oh, this?" George inquires, tapping his 'shades'. "Well, they're actually polarised colour blind glasses."

Sapnap's jaw drops, and his eyes grow wide. "Colour blind glasses? No way, you're _colour blind!?"_

For some reason, Sapnap finds this discovery beyond astonishing.

"Yeah, protan colour blindness. No big deal." George shrugs, then noticing his blank expression.

"Uh, red-green colour blindness," he repeats again with different words, realising he probably didn't know what the hell 'protan' was. "Basically, I can't see red and green. And lot's of colours look really similar."

"Hold on!" Sapnap then exclaims. He looks out the windows of the cable car, gazing down at the view of the trees and forests below them. "What do those trees l0ok like _without_ your glasses on?"

George takes off the glasses, and peers down out the window. The blossoming forests of trees below him all look a bland shade of yellow.

"They're all just _yellow_!" he laughs. He only just got used to wearing the glasses, that the world without them seems so... Dead.

" _What?!"_ Sapnap gasps. "Wait, if green is yellow, then what's yellow?"

"Yellow's just yellow."

_"WHAT?!"_

**  
* * * *  
**

Over in the next cable car, is the boy with the green-yellow jacket. He offered to go in second, and sitting next to him is the boy with the eyepatch. After pressing the button, the cable car had lifted off, moving higher above the forests and mountains as it continued forward.

"Yo, I'm Altrive," greets green-jacket, waving to the other, who was looking down at his lap as he fidgets with his fingers.

"Oh, Krinios." The other responds timidly, glancing at him from the corner of his eye. "But I prefer being called Ryan."

"Why's that? Is it like your nickname, or somethin'?"

Ryan looks up at him, locking eye contact. "It's technically my middle name, but I don't know. I guess it just sounds cooler to me."

"I think both your names sound cool," Altrive compliments, putting a small smile across Ryan's face as he looks back down again.

Altrive turns toward the window beside him, propping an arm against the seat's armrest as he gazes out the window, looking at the enchanting forests below.  
"Ever been to a camp before?" he asks, not taking his eyes away from the view.

"Not really." Ryan shakes his head.

"Well, I've been to a few," Altrive continues, smirking to himself as blissful memories of camping replay in his mind. "But none of them were out in the mountains like this."

"This camp does kinda give me a weird vibe." Ryan murmurs, and Altrive turns around to shoot him a puzzled expression.

"A weird vibe?" Altrive utters. "I think this place seems awesome! Like, dude, we're literally in the mountains. That's _sick!"_

Ryan looks up and sneaks a small peak at the windows beside him. They're high up — _really_ high up. His eyes lock onto the mesmerising view for a minute, before he replies wearily.  
"I think mountains will actually make me sick," he swallows. "High places aren't... Really my thing."

"You're afraid of heights?!" Altrive exclaims, "Ryan, this is the _last_ place a guy with a fear of height should go!"

"I didn't know the whole _camp_ would be in the mountains!" he exclaims back, panicking as he shuts his eyes tight. "Oh my god, I'm so stupid!"

Altrive, sensing his distress, hesitates for a moment before grabbing to hold his hand.

"Maybe you'll get over it this summer." Altrive suggests, squeezing his hand.

**  
* * * *  
**

"Hey guys, I'm Ty!"

The younger boy waves to the two of them, as he sits on the other side of the cable car. This is the cable car with an extra third person — that being the young 15 year old, Ty.

"Hey," says another older boy, sitting parallel to Ty. "I'm Connor."

"The name's Schlatt." The third groans, sitting as far away from Connor as possible on the very right-side of the seat. He yawns, staring off into the distance. He can see the rest of the cable cars escalating up on the zip-line.

"God, I hate camping." Schlatt mutters. "I could have been doing my taxes right now."

Ty frowns. "Why'd you come to the camp if you hate camping?"

Schlatt shoots both the boys an unamused glare. "Well isn't that obvious?"

Silence. And Schlatt's disappointment.

"So I can buy the camp, obviously!" he exclaims. "And then sell it for even _more_ money!"

"Do you even have _enough_ moneyto buy it?" Connor asks him, making Schlatt snap his head around to glare at him.

"Of course not," he scoffs. "Do I _look_ like someone who owns $100,000? I'm going to scam my way to buy it. You're so fucking stupid, you dumb idiot. I don't even know why you're my co-worker."

"Uhh.." Connor mumbles in mild confusion,"I'm your co-worker?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that. You're my co-worker now."

Connor raises his voice. "I never agreed to this!"

"You're the one who stepped into the car with me," he raises an eyebrow, shrugging smugly. "So you kinda did."

Unlike Connor, Ty seems to be more excited about this.

"Can I be part of your company too?!" he exclaims enthusiastically.

"Of course you can!" Schlatt smirks, finger-gunning the boy. "You can be... Uh... The Child Labourer."

Ty falls silent. "... _Cool!"_

"I'm not part of this." Connor looks away, facing his window. "This is stupid."

"Okay, okay, fine!" Schlatt waves his arms. "How about you can own 50% of my company and invest in shares when we buy the camp?"

Connor looks at him, dismayed. "Do I have a choice?"

"No."

He sighs. "This isn't a democracy, isn't it?"

Schlatt laughs. "Democracy's overrated. I run for myself, and you guys work for me. I'm the dictator now, bitch."

**  
  
* * * *  
**

  
"Hi Tommy Innit I am Tubbo do you want to be my friend please underscore five?"

He stops, realising what he just said. "Wait sorry I don't know how the underscore five got there just pretend I never said that."

The 4th cable car jolts as the boy says this, escalating up into the air.

The other boy feels like he should ask him how he got the 'innit' part, but his attention is drawn onto something else.

"Is that a script?"

Tommy points to the small piece of paper in the boy's hands, and he quickly shoves it into his pocket.

"No." Tubbo quickly responds, making Tommy frown. "... Maybe."

"Tubbo, why did you write a script for that?"

"So I wouldn't... Mess up my words," he mumbles, almost as if he's ashamed of himself.

"Do you usually do this when you're meeting someone for the first time?" Tommy inquires, raising an eyebrow at Tubbo. The boy slumps.

"Sometimes," he replies, "but they never end up wanting to be my friend anyway."

"Well that's no surprise." Tommy mutters.

"What's that meant to mean!?"

"Nothing, nothing!" the blonde ushers back, holding up both arms. He sighs, glancing out into the view for a second, before turning back to Tubbo.

"Anyways," he starts, "I have a question."

He clears his throat. "Not to get political, but... Americans."

Tubbo tilts his head. "Huh?"

"Americans, Tubbo." Tommy frowns. "What do you think of Americans?"

"Uh, well," Tubbo begins, "I used to have a pet fish when I was 10 years old and my American friend accidentally killed him because they fed him some of my chocolate brownies."

Tommy blinks. "So you hate Americans? Like Sapnap?"

"Wh- no, that's not what I'm sayi—"

"Because I hate Americans!" Tommy exclaims, standing up from his seat. "Especially Sapnap!"

"I mean I hate Americans too!" Tubbo quickly corrects himself, also standing up. Tommy chuckles, holding his hand out.

"Okay," he grins. "I guess we can be friends."

Tubbo looks at his hand, and then back up to Tommy, before jumping as he cheers out:

"AWESOME SAUUUUCE!"

"Never ever say that again."

"OKAY!"

**  
* * * *  
**

****He buckles himself into the 5th cable car, peering out as he watches the other cable cars elevate up the zipline. He turns to his left, and sees one more boy step into the cable car together with him. He's wearing a black and red hood, and has emerald-jade eyes.

"I guess we're the last two, huh?" he asks the emerald-eyed boy, who steps inside.

"Yep!" the boy smiles back, pressing the launch-off button as he straps himself in. "Last, but definitely not the least!"

The boy's warm enthusiasm brings a weird smile to the other's face. "Well, hey. My name's Skeppy."

"Hi Skeppy," the other greets. "I'm Bad, short for BadBoyHalo!"

Bad was an ironic name, considering he may be one of the friendliest people Skeppy has ever met.

Suddenly, Bad gasps. "WOAH!"

He stands up, his hands sprawled out on the glass window as he gazes out at the beautiful view below with his face pressed against the glass. "Look at the view! Oh my goodness, it's so beautiful!"

Skeppy smirks in his seat. "Wouldn't it be funny if this cable car suddenly broke?"

" _What?!"_ Bad exclaims, jerking around to look at him. "No it wouldn't!!"

"Click, crash, boom!" Skeppy continues, waving his arms around to emphasize. "Splat onto the gr—!"

"AHHH! No!" Bad cries. "Stop being such a muffin!"

Skeppy lowers his arms. What did he just call him?

"A _muffin?_ Like the dessert?" he laughs, and then gasps. "Like a snack?! Bad, are you calling me a snack?"

"Well maybe I am!" Bad pouts, folding his arms at him. "Maybe you _are_ a snack!"

_Does he even know what that means?_

"A biiiiig snack!"

_He totally doesn't know what that means._

His obliviousness makes him let out another small laugh — in a weird way, it's kinda cute. Maybe he could use that to his advantage if he were to pull any sort of prank on him (he's quite the prankster).

"Are you flirting with me Bad?" Skeppy grins.

"Flir— _Huh!?"_ he exclaims, " _what?!_ No I'm not! W-Why would you even think that?!"

"You totally are," he teases. "That's pretty... _Muffiny_ of you."

Skeppy then suddenly gasps, an idea plummeting into his head. He grabs onto Bad's shoulders excitedly as he exclaims:

"Wait, do you think the camp will have muffins?!"

"I really hope so!" Bad exclaims back, returning the excitement. Skeppy smirks again.

"If they did, I'd totally not give any to you."

"SKEPPY!"

**  
* * * ***

The last cable car lands, and the last two boys get out; now, all 11 of the kids are standing on top of the mountain. Ahead of them is a dirt-road pathway directly leading straight ahead to a large house — that's probably where the owner lives. It's made of a rustic, ancient-looking wood, looking like it's been abandoned there for years.

Behind them is a large field perfect for camping, followed by the never-ending torrents of beautiful mountains; the morning sun basked behind the florescent, mountain trees; trees that are tucked amongst the grassy canyons of the foreign lands. It's quite a sight.

Further left of the large hall-like structure is a more open land. Small cabins are distributed on that hill, along with a small little bonfire area a bit farther ahead.

"Welcome, welcome!" coos a voice. A boy around their age — perhaps 18? — bursts through the doors of the large camp house. He has dirty-blonde slicked back hair, and is wearing a green hood with a white smiley-face mask. It must be the owner.

"Glad you all had a fantastic ride, huh?" the owner exclaims, approaching the group.

"Well, _most_ of us had a fantastic ride." Altrive says, with an arm around a terror-striken, weak-looking Ryan.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Ryan mumbles drunkenly.

"If you're gonna be sick," Schlatt starts, pointing over to the bushes, "be sick over there."

"I second that." Connor speaks up.

"I third that!" Ty also says.

"Okay, okay, let's save this for later when we introduce ourselves, yeah?" Dream remarks, stopping the conversation as he clears his throat. "I'm Dream, the new owner of this camp. This actually used to belong to my Aunt and Uncle, but after their recent passing last year they gave their ownership of this land to me. So I'm excited to officially announce the opening of Dream Summer Camp!"

Ryan then throws up on the floor immediately after.

... Yeah. This is gonna be one _hell_ of a summer camp.


	3. BEHIND THAT MASK?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream gives the group of boys a small tour around the campsite, before splitting them into 2 cabin groups. After that, they spend the day casually playing water activities. When evening dawns, they all have a bonfire and introduce themselves. Everything is calm and casual, until Altrive makes an unexpected observation about their camp leader...

.................................................

**CHAPTER 2: BEHIND THAT MASK?**   
****

****

.................................................

  
"I'm okay," Ryan raises his hand, making an 'OK' sign as he wipes his mouth. "J-Just a really bad phobia of... _Heights."_

By the last word his voice is just barely louder than a whisper. Dream just purses his lips, running his fingers through his thick dirty blonde hair. "Well, I guess this camp will be a good way for you to get over your fear then, huh?"

He then spreads out his arms, gesturing at the large building as a —smile curls along his face from behind his mask.

"Anywho, this is the camp you'll be staying at for a month! I obviously can't really run this place on my own, since I'm only 18. Soo, I invited my cousin, Wilbur, to come help us out at this camp. He lives a few hours away, so he'll probably show up sometime tomorrow. For now, I'll give you all a tour!"

There is something about his presence that already makes the group feel warmly welcomed.  
Dream twirls around enthusiastically, reaching both hands out to push open the double-doors. As he does so, the entryway reveals a wide, dim-lit area.

At the centre of the monument is a staircase encircling the rustic hall, leading to a second floor with it's edges fenced off by barriers. The planked walls are peeling of paintwork; it's antique windows cloaked with tattered fabric curtains.

Dream leads the group of kids inside as all of them look around in awe. To the right on the ground level, is a long hallway, illuminated with lights. You'd think a place this old would run on candles.

"This here is the main hallway," Dream announces, guiding them through the halls as the floorboards creak noisily.

"Woah," Tommy whispers, "it looks like some haunted house."

Skeppy smirks, taunting. "Maybe we'll find some ghosts~"

"Ghosts?!" Bad exclaims, jumping out his skin with a quivering voice. Sapnap suddenly shouts, grabbing Bad's shoulders as he points at the ceiling.

"AHH! I THINK I SEE A GHOST RIGHT THERE!"

Bad shrieks out again in terror, clinging onto Sapnap. He snickers, and everyone but Bad bursts into laughter.

"Don't worry," Dream chuckles along, "you won't be finding any ghosts here. _Totally_ free of evil demons."

Schlatt steps forward from behind Dream, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I can't tell if you were being sarcastic or not, but either way I'm not so convinced."

He cracks a sly grin, waving a hand at the cracked windows of the hallways. "I mean, look at the condition of this shack. If you ask me, this place is practically _begging_ to be haunted."

Dream raises an eyebrow. What is he alluding to?

"But listen here, Dream." Schlatt offers, holding out his hand. "I can help you with that. I could completely renovate this place new into a resort if you, uh, I don't know. Maybe... consider giving me ownership of this land?"

He scoffs in response. "Yeah, not happening. Nice try."

"What did I say?! I _told_ him that it asking won't work!" Connor hisses to his friend, Ty, through grit teeth.

The group continues down the long hallway, chattering amongst themselves. Meanwhile, George shoots small occasional glances Dream, debating whether or not he should speak to him, before eventually deciding to spark up a conversation with the intriguing man.

"How long have you had this place for?" George inquires, catching the leader's attention.

"Oh? Well..." he starts. "Recently, only a few months. But this place has probably been here for at least a century. Maybe even more."

"More than a _century_?! No wonder why it looks so old... It's like an abandoned mansion!"

"Kinda," he grins at his fascination. "I mean, it's true that this place hasn't actually been in proper use for a while, so in a way it makes sense—"

"Holy shit! 'Ey Big D, what the fuck is this?!"

An ignorant shout from a boy cuts their conversation short — at the end of the hallway is Tommy standing before a large, metal door with danger tape and chains sealing it shut. Next to him is his friend, Tubbo. It seems like the both ran ahead.

"Language!" Bad criticizes.

"Fuck you!"

Dream, along with the rest of the group, break off into an instant jog after the two boys. Curious, Tommy reaches out his hand, fingers brushing over the chains—

**_"Don't go in there!!"_ **

Dream yanks his wrist with an iron grip as he yells. His voice is cold yet assertive, laced with a blazing wild poison — if his words were human, they'd burn through Tommy like acid.

His warm, charismatic demeanour has diminished completely, replaced with a completely foreign side of rampant despondency. His abrupt, two-faced command sends a chill up Tommy's spine, flooding his insides with torrents of fear.

Silence paints the air, and everyone turns to Dream with gaping and shocked expressions. Dream lets go of Tommy's wrist, retracting his hand back slowly as he clears his throat.

"That's the Breaker Room." Dream starts, his voice easing. "It's filled with gas & high voltage tanks. It powers the entire campsite. The room's... _extremely_ _dangerous,_ and easily prone to catching fire. It's barricaded with copper and carefully manufactured blast-resistant materials. It's been sealed for 50 years, and **will remain sealed for 50 years.** "

His stare is grave through his mask, and for a split second his eyes flicker a hint of something dark and corrupted. Tommy winces, fear tangling his gut.

"One foot in there, and the whole place blows up. **I want you guys to promise me to _never_ go in there."**

Frightened nods are the only movement in the room. Schlatt elbows Tommy subtly.  
"Nice one, dumbass. Almost blew up the camp."

Dream's shifted behaviour reverts back once again, and he returns to the tour. He gestures to another large double-door nearby them, pretending as if nothing had happened.

"This is the Main Dining Hall!" Dream announces, bursting open the doors. "AKA, the cafeteria. This will be our main meet-up place, and we'll go here every morning to eat breakfast and plan our activities for the day."

"What kind of activities?" one of the boys named Altrive questions.

"Well, I have a few ideas in mind," Dream mulls. "Team building games, or some competitive games like races. I don't know, whatever really. I never ran a camp before so I don't know how things will go. For all I know, this place could _actually_ be haunted! Haha!"

He forces out an enigmatic chuckle, but ceases after realising he's the only one laughing. Altrive raises an eyebrow.

' _This place could actually be haunted' —_ that last sentence he threw in there didn't feel like it fit with the rest of what he said. Picking up on his odd remark, all he does is mumble a, "well _that's_ reassuring."

The leader continues to tour around the Cafeteria, and the sprightly mood quickly lifts once again. The first thing Skeppy does is run to the cupboard whilst exclaiming "do you have any muffins?!", to which Dream responds with a light-hearted "no", followed by Bad's disappointment and Tommy cussing again for some reason.

He leads them around the hall, showing them the large dining table at the centre of the room and the empty buffet self-serve table beside the cafeteria. They then roam back down the main hall, where Dream shows them the bathrooms. They're quite large; one half of the room has a sink and a few toilets, while the other for showers.

Dream then proceeds to show them further down the main hall, and leads them into another large room near the bathrooms which is the Games room. In it has a fireplace, a ping-pong table that looks like it's 100 years old, and bean bags scattered along the floor.

Then, he shows them a few more smaller distributed rooms, which were mostly just random storage rooms or unused guest bedrooms.

Soon enough, the entire first floor had been explored — now leaving only the second floor's contents to yet be discovered.

"I'll let you all explore the second floor tomorrow, otherwise we won't have time for the activities today," Dream had declared once they finished, leading them all outside. "So, I suppose I'll show you all your cabins now."

After hearing that, the group of boys immediately spring into another lively chatting session, as a rush of excitement courses through them all. To the right of the mansion-like building, is a narrow forest encased with bushes and tall, thin trees. Dream gestures them to follow him as he guides them along a gravel trail through the bushes. After a few minutes of walking in a straight line, they emerge out the forest, and a wide field reveals itself before them.

There are 2 small dormitory-like structures placed a few metres apart from each other over in the distance, which are presumably the cabins. Over by the far left on the ledge of a steady sloping-down hill, is a large brick frame — probably used for bonfires.

Over across the cabins is a river connecting to a large lake; it's clear waters shimmering like crystals underneath the morning sun. Looming along the river are blossoming, fruitful trees, all it's leaves dancing effortlessly and rhythmically in the breeze. The campsite looks...

"It's beautiful." George murmurs, awestruck. A few dazed murmurs shuffle around the group.

Beside George is Sapnap, who nods in agreement. "Damn." is all he says.

"Uh huh," Dream nods. "Quite the sight, eh?"

"Do you live here?" the smaller boy, Tubbo, asks. Dream turns to him, grinning.

"Yep, ever since last month. It's a magical place in the mornings and night. Which is why I'm _not planning on giving it away any time soon."_

He shoots Schlatt an unamused glare as he says this, as if declining his offer again. Schlatt lets out a cocky scoff. "You'll give in someday."

The admiration of the scenic view is ruined by an overly hyperactive boy who seems to be good at pointing out the obvious.

"Are those our cabins?!" Skeppy exclaims, pointing at the dorm rooms.

"I'll race you there!" Tommy shouts back at him, before immediately darting towards the cabins, to which Tubbo and Skeppy run right after.

Schlatt scoffs, folding his arms. "Seriously, _running races?_ They look like they're 16 at _least_. Wasting your energy for something so useless... Ha, what a bunch of stupid children."

Monotonously, Dream nudges him. "I'll pay you 5 bucks if you beat them."

"Make that 15."

"10."

"Deal!"

He doesn't waste a second before running off after them. Curious, George turns to Dream. "Are you actually going to give him $10?"

"Of course not."

"You mean to tell me," Ty gapes, "that you managed to _scam_ Schlatt?"

BadBoyHalo frowns. "Hey, that's not nice..."

"I mean, would you even really call that 'scamming'?" Ryan speaks up, ignoring Bad's comment. "It's just a classic bribery tactic."

Ty runs a hand through his hair, distressed. "Oh my god... He fell for it. The money must have gotten to his head!"

Connor rolls his eyes. "I'm pretty sure your idol's in debt, dude."

"Hey, enough of small-talk, I still gotta show you your cabins." Dream cuts in, gesturing at them once again as he heads over to the dormitories.

Just like they had observed from the distance, there are only two cabins of a fairly decent size. They look like they could fit about 6-7 people each. Once they reach them, Dream pulls out something small from his pocket.

"I have divided you all into 2 groups for night when you sleep in your cabins. There's supposed to be 14 of us in total, but since 2 of us aren't here yet you'll be only two groups of 6." Dream starts, running his index finger along the notes written in what looks to be a notebook. "Though, since I'll be sleeping in the main building, one of you will have one less person."

He points over to the first cabin — above the door is a wooden sign nailed into the bark, with the letter 'A' carved onto it.

"Listen up! In Cabin A, is: **Skeppy** , **Bad** , **Ryan** , **Altrive** , **Schlatt** , and **Ty**."  
  


To his immediate dismay, Connor realises he's separated from his two friends. He didn't mind Ty, but Schlatt... Even though he finds him too egotistical and irritating at times, he unexpectedly also found himself sticking by him a lot.

"Sucks to suck, bro." Sapnap nudges him, noticing this too. "Don't worry, you have me to talk to."

He winks at him, and Connor takes a cautious step back.

Dream points to the next Cabin — Cabin B. "The rest of you will be in this Cabin."

He looks at the remaining boys as he says this; **Sapnap, George, Tommy, Tubbo,** and **Connor.**

"The cabin you're assigned to will be your cabin for the rest of camp. Anyways, we're gonna do some water activities so go ahead and get dressed in your swimwear!"

In an instant, the guys all rush to inside their cabin rooms.

  
  
*** * *  
  
  
**

**GEORGE  
  
**

Running a hand through his soaked hair, he opens his eyes as he bobs up from the water. It's already late in the afternoon, maybe 5pm, and he's exhausted.

Earlier, when George had been introduced to his Cabin (Cabin 2), the first thing the guys in his group had done were claim their bunkbeds. Tommy was the first one to climb up onto his bed, dibbing the top bunk. Tubbo just shrugged and took the one beneath it, and frankly it had surprised George at how obedient Tubbo was.

Fortunately, his friend Sapnap was in the same group as him, so it was no problem choosing who to bunk with. Sapnap also wanted to claim the top bunk, so that just left George to also take the bottom.

Connor was the only one without a partner, so he took the bottom bunk on the other side of the room on his own. When they had finished unpacking, they all slipped on some swimwear and met up with Group A and Dream at the riverside (George was the last to get ready, again, but by now the others grown comically used to his tardiness).

Once everyone was ready, Dream hosted a few water games. First, they played a few rounds of water-polo; then, they had a raft-building-and-race contest (Team SMP — Tommy, Tubbo, and Dream — had ended up winning, and Team 'Schlatt & Co' was last). Afterwards, the group had free-time for the rest of the day.

Swimming wasn't necessarily George's specialty — he never really enjoyed the water much — but nonetheless he had inadvertently found himself sticking by the lake for practically the entire day. Maybe perhaps it was because his social awkwardness made himself glue onto the only person he knew — Sapnap. And it just so happens that Sapnap _adores_ the water.

"Yo George, watcha doin'?" calls out a voice. George turns around, and in perfect timing, he sees Sapnap swimming over to him. Unlike George, Sapnap has a much sportier build, and fit body composition. Visible muscle bulges from his hard biceps.

George had gotten to know Sapnap a little more throughout the past few hours playing water games — and he realised it doesn't take Einstein to figure out he's a fan of sports. His extremely laid-back personality made it easy for him to talk to. Even though it's been only a few hours since their introduction, he acts as if he's known George his whole life.

"Oh, just taking a break. I'm pretty exhausted." George responds, heaving himself up over the ledge of the lakeside. He sits himself up on the grass, his feet dipped into the water.

"So you don't wanna come join me and the others in playing a round of ragtag?"

"Well, define 'others'."

"Inniter, his sidekick friend, and uhh.. I think his name's Altrive? And the guy who puked this morning."

"... Nah, I'll pass."

Sapnap flicks back his wet hair from his face, and smirks. "Why, you don't like them? Oh, I see. It's because there's other people, right? You just want it to be _us two~"_

His face flushes pink at Sapnap's obnoxiously try-hard flirting, knowing he's obviously doing this to screw with him. "Don't make it weird, Sapnap! I told you already, I'm just tired. I'll join later."

Content with his reply, Sapnap shrugs, muttering 'your loss' before swimming off to the others, leaving George alone on the ledge as he watches the other boys play.

A sudden voice from behind him slaps him out from his thoughts. "Hey there."

He jerks around, and sees a tall boy walking over to him wearing nothing but lime swim trunks and a white, plastic mask. The first thing he notices is the discernible outline of his abs on his stomach. His blonde hair, sleeked and wet behind his head as it's plastered by the water, shimmers underneath the late noon sun.

Like as if he's radiating some sort of hypnotising aura, George can't take his eyes off him. If Sapnap was a rock, then he'd be a fucking boulder. 

_He's hot.  
_ _... Wait a minute._

He quickly realises that this is the Camp leader he's looking at. Shambled back by his extreme awkwardness, all he can muster out is a nervous "wait, _Dream!?"_

Oblivious to his nervousness, Dream takes a casual seat beside him on the grass. "So, you're tired too?"

"Um, yeah." _God, why am I so dry?_

"Understandable," Dream shrugs. "Today was a lot more eventful than I had anticipated, too. I'm knocked!"

George sneaks another glance at Dream. He's tired? How can a guy with his body be _tired?_

_You don't look like the type who'd be tired._

"Huh?"

Crap. He said that out loud, didn't he?

To his surprise, Dream chuckles. "You think so? Well, you're sorta right. I actually have a pretty good stamina. I just hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night, that's all. It's why I've kinda been a bit off today."

A question arises inside of his head, and out of curiosity he asks. "Why's that? Were you up late preparing for camp?"

"Not really." he speaks with an amiable tone. "I was so excited about this day that I actually had prepared a week prior, haha. I was too hyped about today to fall asleep."

He forces out another soft laugh in an attempt to obscure his obvious sleep deprivation. But unlike Dream, George doesn't laugh.

"Did it end up going the way you planned?" he asks instead. Dream looks at him through his mask, pausing for a few seconds.

"Not exactly." he eventually admits. "But then again, I didn't know _what_ to expect. But I still had a lot of fun regardless, and I have a feeling this is gonna be a good summer. I hope you guys enjoyed yourselves today, too."

The corners of George's lips curve slightly upwards. "Yeah, I did... So I guess that's good then."

"Yeah."

An unconscious silence falls over between the two; as each second passes, the urge to say something — _anything —_ to break the awkward silence only tugs at George's gut more. But for some reason he can't bring himself to formulate any words. _Why can't he speak?_ Why does he have to be so _awkward?_

He bites his lip, averting his gaze down to the water, purposely avoiding eye contact with Dream (not that it matters anyway since his eyes are covered by his mask). Something about the overwhelming silence and Dream's empowering presence makes the air around George feel dense, and intimidating. Like as if he's a deer being preyed on by a wolf.

Until finally, Dream shatters the glass quietness.

"You know what? It's starting to get late now." He stands back up on his two feet, dusting off his shorts. George turns to look at him, and the man holds out a hand to him. "Wanna help me set up the bonfire for tonight?"

He's never set up a bonfire before. But it would be rude of him to reject the offer, right?

_Maybe helping him will redeem myself of my social awkwardness._

"Sure." George stands up, too; and before he knows it, he and Dream are running through the bushes holding piles of sticks in their hand to light the campfire.  
  


**  
* * *  
  
**

**RYAN  
  
**

Nothing can possibly beat spending the rest of your night than sitting around a campfire after an exhausting day.

Ryan had hardly ever gotten the opportunity to swim back at his home town, so at least he has one thing to look forward to for the next month that would (hopefully) take his mind off of the fact that they're staying on the mountains.

As nightfall began to wash over cobalt skies, the group had gathered around the campfire that their leader, Dream, had set up — along with one of the other boys from the camp ( _I think his name was George.)_

Surrounding the bonfire was a bunch of logs in the formation of a circle. Ryan had sheepishly taken a seat on the log closest to the forest. Shamelessly, his friend Altrive plunked down right beside him on his right. On his left, is another boy whose name he's forgotten. All he knows is that he's friends with that cocky short man who wants to buy the camp.

Soon, everybody had taken a seat on the logs around the crackling bonfire. Dream, whose sitting on the opposite side of Ryan, stands up dramatically once the chattering dies down a little.

"Well now that we're all comfortable," Dream starts, calling out with an exuberant and assertive voice. "I'd say we should all introduce ourselves so we can get to know each other better! We'll go clockwise in a circle. I want you all to start off with your name, age, a fun fact about yourself and... **Your biggest fear~"**

He lowered his voice to an eerie coo at the last sentence, menacingly waving his fingers at them all, trying to set a 'spooky' mood. A chagrined sigh slips helplessly from Ryan's mouth. _Everyone already knows what_ ** _I'm_** _afraid of._

"I'll go first," Dream continues, clearing his throat. "As you should all know by now, I'm Dream, and I'm 18. Fun fact: I love camping. Big surprise, huh? I've grown up around campsites and the outdoors since I was a kid. And I guess I'm pretty scared of **snakes**."

Clockwise beside Dream, is a dark-haired, slim boy. He blinks, clueless for a second before realising it's his turn to talk.

"Oh, um—" he fumbles over his words clumsily. "Hey. I'm George... Uh, I'm— 19 year old. I like computer coding, graphics design, and all that stuff. And I guess my biggest fear is **drowning**.."

 _He's 19? I thought he'd be like, 16 or something._ Ryan mulls. The next boy speaks.

" 'Sup, you guys can call me Sapnap." Announced a black-haired boy with a head tie. "I'm 18, and I like reading about legends and myths and all that gunk. And my biggest fear? Hmm... Probably **fire**. Burning sucks, man."

"True that," Altrive speaks up in response. "I once burned my hand on a kettle and got a scar from it. Can confirm, burns suck."

There are a few rippling chuckles. Then, the next boy speaks.

"HEYYYYY guys, I'm Tommy! The funniest 16 year old you'll ever meet. A fun fact about myself is that I'm really good at attracting women. I have so many girlfriends, don't I Tubbo?"

A boy next to him, which Ryan assumes is 'Tubbo', raises an eyebrow. "I thought you said you were si—"

 _"Yes I have so many girlfriends._ And my fear? **No girlfriends."**

Ryan stifles back a laugh with his hand, despite most of the guys laughing at that (Tubbo is the only one who doesn't laugh). The obvious dynamic between he and his friend sure is amusing to watch.

Inniter had already made a name for himself, so it was inevitable his introduction would spark some life. Something tells Ryan that Tommy would be the comic relief in the group.

"Well, uh, I'm Tubbo." _Yeah, I established that._ "and I'm also 16. I really, really love bees. Man bees are so cool, I love them a lot. Bees are awesome! And my fear is... Well.. Probably **ghosts**."

There are a few agreeing nods around the group, before suddenly it's Altrive's turn to speak. Curious, Ryan keenly listens in on his friend's introduction. Maybe this is a good way to get to know Altrive better.

"Yo, call me Altrive." He wears a charismatic grin on his face, finger-gunning everyone. "I'm 17, and I also love camping and doing outdoor stuff. Guess we got something in common, huh Dream?"

In spite of the mask obscuring his face, Ryan can sense his smile.

"My biggest fear... Hmmm... I guess.. My fear would be **losing someone close to me.** Like losing my mom to cancer, or something."

Losing someone close to him? That's not what he expected Altrive to say. He looks like the kind of guy who would fear something whacky, like birds.

He looks at Ryan when he finishes speaking, as if signalling for him to start his introduction. _Oh, crap. Right._

"Um, I'm Ryan, and I'm 17," he starts. "A fun fact is... Well I guess I'm pretty good at speedrunning basically any video game. Apart from horror games, 'cus I'm terrified of them."

He's just rambling at this point.

"Yeah, horror games suck. I played it once and I'm never playing it again... But my _actual_ biggest fear though is heights. Specifically falling. Not that you didn't see that coming anyway..."

He realises he's been looking down this whole time. So he looks up, and finds that he's met with a bunch of intrigued eyes. A younger boy wearing another head-tie and mask speaks up.

"What horror game did you play?"

"Oh, uh.. FNAF, I think."

"Oh yeah, that's pretty spook."

A gentle smile curls along Ryan's face. _Someone asked me a question!_ He turns to look at Altrive's reaction, only to find him wearing an unreadable expression along his face. He seems to be in deep thought.

"Hey, my name's Connor." Says the boy sitting to Ryan's left. "I'm a 17 year old average guy. Uhh... I guess a fun fact about myself is that I got a free scholarship to Harvard a few weeks ago. So that's cool. And I'm pretty scared of **clowns**."

The next boy speaks immediately after. "The name's Schlatt. I'm 18, and I'm a certified professional businessman. Terrific spokesman and I'm also the biggest asshole ever. I love money by the way. My fear? **Being in debt.** Happened once, and holy fuck I'm not letting it happen again."

_'Biggest asshole ever'. . . Yeah, he sure lives up to his title._

It's the boy who asked Ryan the question turn. "I'm Ty, and I'm 15 years old. Heh, I'm probably the youngest here. A fun fact about myself... My birthday was last month! And I got a sick scooter, which is pretty cool. And my biggest fear... It's definitely the **dark**. I... Absolutely hate the dark. Seriously, I'd never go anywhere in the dark."

He sure seems like he hates the dark.

"Hi everyone!" exclaims a way too cheery and friendly boy. "I'm Badboyhalo, but you can just call me Bad! I'm 18, and fun fact: I love baking! And muffins. And baking muffins! And my pet dog, Rat. And uh.. Oh jeez, I got a lot of fears. Let's see... I hate the **dark, clowns, spooky stuff like ghosts, death, spiders, mean people..."**

A snarky boy cuts him short of his list. "I'm surprised 'swear words' wasn't the first thing on that list."

"Oh, that too!"

The same snarky boy is the next, and last to speak up.

"Well yo! How's it going? I'm Skeppy with a capital S, and I'm 17! Let's see, uhh.. Fun fact, I'm awesome. I'm literally the best. And I **don't have a fear!** Yeah, that's right. I'm fearless, totally fearless!"

He waves his arms around dramatically as he speaks, but for some reason Ryan can sense that he _does_ have a fear, but is extremely hesitant to say it out loud. Maybe that's his fear - talking about his fears. Ironic.

That puts an end to the introductions. Once that's finished, Dream claps, and announces that he's got two full bags of marshmallows. He goes around the group with the bag, allowing people to grab a handful of some. When he finishes that, chatter begins to arise between the groups of boys.

Ryan's about to start up a conversation with Altrive, when he beats him to it.

"Don't you feel it?"

_... What?_

He murmurs with a reverent tone of voice, barely louder the low sounds of the crackling fire and muffled chattering. Altrive's grim yet focused gaze doesn't leave the flames. For the first time, he doesn't sound enthusiastic. His laid-back, friendly demeanour has vanished.

"Huh?" Ryan on the other hand is quite clueless at this sudden remark. "Feel _what?"_

"Something off. There's something off about _him_." He nods at Dream, who's sitting beside George and Sapnap, laughing and talking with the others as he roasts his marshmallow over the bonfire. Ryan shoots an unsuspecting glance at Dream, before returning back to Altrive.

_"Dream?"_

He nods. "Yeah. It's like he's... _hiding_ something from us."

"Well... Of course he is." Ryan lowers his voice to a soft mumble, too. "Doesn't everyone hide something? It's only natural."

As if what he said had triggered something in him, Altrive jerks his head around, his wide, glassy emerald eyes darting over to meet Ryan's as he blasts him an exasperated glare.

"No! Not not like that... You're telling me you can't feel it? That weird, sinking feeling in your gut every time he looks at you?"

He grabs Ryan's wrist alarmingly. "There's something _off_ in him, Ryan. His stare feels cold and disconnected, like he's not even half submerged in reality. He's always laughing too much, like he's forcing it. He seems _fake_. He's hiding something important from _us._ And I'm... not liking where his _secret_ might be going."

Ryan doesn't realise until now how much tighter his grip around his wrist has gotten. His hand is damp, like he's been in a cold sweat. His pupils shake, panicked, and his breathing picks up.

What the hell is with Altrive's sudden change in perspective? Just this morning Altrive could barely stay in his seat because he was so excited about camp. He said it himself — he had a good feeling. And now he's just trying to tell him that the place seems weird just because Dream looked at him funny?

"Altrive, calm down dude..." Ryan urges, trying to shake his hand off. "You're... Just overthinking things. There's nothing off about Dream. Why would there be..?"

He turns to look at Dream as he says this; even despite what he's saying himself, there's a small fraction of him deep down that also senses it, too. Something secretive. But that's normal, right? It's not like they're best friends with Dream, so why should they feel entitled to know everything about his past?

A shudder suddenly runs through him, as if he's touched by some midwinter chill.

A few eerie seconds pass, before Altrive shakes his head, sighing defeatedly. "Uh... Nevermind. Forget I said any of that, I'm probably just over-thinking. Sorry for worrying you."

He resumes to pick up his stick and marshmallow, roasting it over the fire. After holding it over for a few seconds, he retracts it from the heat, and swallows the marshmallow whole. "Mmmmm... Oh my god, I forgot how good marshmallows taste at camp!"

But Ryan can't hear the rest of what his friend says, because he finds himself unconsciously slipping into his own deep thoughts within his head.

Altrive seems like a perceptive person. _Too_ perceptive. And Ryan can't help but feel like what his friend is saying might have somewhat truth in it.

But even if it is — what is it? What could Dream possibly be keeping from them?

It's that mask, isn't it? 

_What on Earth is he hiding behind that mask of his?_


End file.
